Lead Angle

There's no doubt that the U.S. manufacturing boom has created jobs. The question is, are they for humans or robots?

Alan Rooks, Cutting Tool Engineering's editorial director, looks forward to the day he can sit in a traffic jam alongside George Jetson in his September editorial.

Cutting Tool Engineering Editorial Director Alan Rooks ruminates over the "Made in America" debate that flared once again thanks to the U.S. Olympic team's uniforms.

The Lead Angle column in the July 2012 issue of Cutting Tool Engineering addresses the growing interest in retaining manufacturing workers through training and retraining.

After being offstage for many years, U.S. manufacturing had better be ready for the limelight. Another large research study has found that, not surprisingly, manufacturing is big—and it matters.

Cutting Tool Engineering Editorial Director Alan Rooks ponders one of the metalworking industry's biggest challenges of late—filling numerous job vacancies.

It's getting to be a broken record. February was another up month for U.S. manufacturing as output increased 0.4 percent. Output rose 0.7 percent in January after jumping 1.5 percent in December—the biggest gain in 5 years.

States near the Marcellus Shale, a huge natural gas formation centered in Pennsylvania, are feverishly pursuing a $4 billion ethane "cracker" to be built by Royal Dutch Shell. The cracker will process ethane-rich gas from the Marcellus Shale into ethylene, and the ethylene will be used by the pharmaceutical, chemical and plastics industries.

The Lead Angle editorial by Cutting Tool Engineering Editorial Director Alan Rooks ponders the question, "What inspires people to do their best?"

CTE Editorial Director Alan Rooks laments the long and winding road to economic recovery in this Lead Angle editorial in the September 2011 issue of Cutting Tool Engineering magazine.

In his August 2011 Lead Angle editorial, Cutting Tool Engineering Editorial Director Alan Rooks addresses whether the plan for the latest U.S. manufacturing initiative unveiled by President Obama will provide a boost to the industry.

Cutting Tool Engineering Editorial Director Alan Rooks examines Germany's manufacturing model in his July Lead Angle commentary.